SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fails during routine mission | CNN

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SpaceX’s stalwart Falcon 9 rocket, which powers satellite launches as well as trips to orbit for NASA astronauts, experienced a rare failure Thursday night at it attempted to haul a batch of internet satellites to orbit.

The incident marks the first time a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket — which plays a crucial role in the United States and global launch industries as well as NASA’s human spaceflight program — has failed in nearly a decade.

The Falcon 9 took flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday evening, around 10:30 p.m. local time.

The launch vehicle carried 20 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink network, which already operates via more than 6,000 satellites that have been deployed via dozens of launches, according to astrophyiscist Jonathan McDowell.

Most of those flights have gone off without any obvious issues, but Thursday was different.

The first leg of the mission appeared to proceed smoothly, with the Falcon 9 using its first-stage booster — the bottommost part of the rocket with nine engines that provide the initial burst of power at liftoff — to propel itself toward space.

That booster then detached and landed safely back on a sea-faring platform so that SpaceX can refurbish and use it again.

But the second stage of the rocket, which is designed to fire up after the first stage falls away and power the satellites to their final destination in orbit, failed abruptly. The cause was not immediately clear.

“During tonight’s Falcon 9 launch of Starlink, the second stage engine did not complete its second burn. As a result, the Starlink satellites were deployed into a lower than intended orbit,” according to a statement from SpaceX.

Elon Musk, SpaceX’s CEO, added in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the the second stage did not just fail — it experienced what his company tends to call an “RUD” or “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” which typically refers to an explosion.

“Reasons unknown,” Musk’s post reads.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial rocket launches, said in a statement that it is aware of Thursday’s Falcon 9 failure, and no “public injuries or public property damage have been reported.”

“The FAA is assessing the operation and will issue an updated statement if it is determined an investigation is warranted,” the agency said in the statement.

Thursday’s mishap raises questions about whether the Falcon 9 rocket will have to be taken out of service at a crucial time for SpaceX and the US space industry.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 plays a key role in NASA’s human spaceflight program — flying astronauts on routine trips to orbit.

Notably, SpaceX’s mishap comes after Boeing’s Starliner vehicle, which is set to join SpaceX in providing astronaut launches, experienced several issues during its ongoing debut crewed mission.

The Starliner has already extended its mission weeks longer than expected as engineers work to figure out what caused helium leaks and thruster problems on the first leg of the spacecraft’s trip.

And while NASA and Boeing officials say they are confident that the Starliner will be able to bring its crew members home, Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, noted Wednesday that SpaceX is a backup option.

“The beautiful thing about Commercial Crew Program is that we have two vehicles,” Stich said, referring to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which routinely launches on the Falcon 9, and the Starliner.

“We have a little bit more time to look at the data and then make a decision as to whether we need to do anything different,” Stich said, referring to the flexibility that SpaceX could grant the International Space Station schedule and the Starliner test flight.

The Falcon 9, SpaceX’s most prolific launch vehicle, and the company’s Crew Dragon capsule also have some notable astronaut missions of their own on the horizon. That includes plans to fly tech billionaire Jared Isaacman and three crew mates on a trip to orbit, a mission that is expected to include the first-ever spacewalk conducted by private astronauts.

In August, SpaceX is also expected to fly NASA astronauts to the International Space Station as part of a long-running contract with the space agency.

Musk said the Starlink satellites launched on Thursday were deployed, but they may be too near Earth to remain there for long.

In a later update, posted after 1:30 a.m. ET, SpaceX said it had made contact with five of the 20 satellites and was attempting to raise their orbit.

“We’re updating satellite software to run the ion thrusters at their equivalent of warp 9,” Musk said. “Unlike a Star Trek episode, this will probably not work, but it’s worth a shot.”

SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are designed to disintegrate as the reenter the atmosphere, according to the company, so satellites that do fall out of orbit should not pose a risk to people on the ground.

However, recent incidents have shown space garbage can unexpectedly survive reentry.

It’s not clear what this mishap will mean for the future of SpaceX’s Falcon 9. Typically, rockets remain grounded for months after a failure as engineers work to determine the root cause and verify the vehicle’s safety.

NASA did not immediately provide comment to CNN Friday morning. SpaceX also did not respond but does not typically reply to news inquiries.

The last time a Falcon 9 rocket failed during flight was in June 2015, when the launch vehicle was powering a cargo mission to the International Space Station. The rocket was grounded for about six months after that mishap before resuming flight in December 2015.

Another issue occurred in September 2016, when a Falcon 9 rocket holding a satellite exploded on the launchpad before liftoff. The rocket did not fly for another four and a half months after that incident.